Housings for power semiconductors demand excellent thermal and protection performance for the semiconductor chips. As shown in FIG. 1, power semiconductor device housings of today may be based on a chip 102, a lead frame 104 and an epoxy mold compound 106 for chip encapsulation. Bond wires 108 and solder 112 may also be used in typical chip packages. Furthermore, various requirements are placed on chip encapsulation materials. Chemical, electrical and mechanical requirements for sufficient chip protection should be satisfied. This may lead to a significant rise in manufacturing costs, wherein the lead frame and the epoxy mold compound tend to dominate the overall cost of the housing.